I’m honestly not sure how I feel. I mean, of course I am sad. Anyone’s death is a sad event. And I certainly never wished the 15 year struggle with Alzheimer’s on him (and if you believe the struggle started after he left office, you’re deluding yourself). But at the same time, I have strong memories of how very much I disliked Reagan when he was President. Sure, he elevated national pride but he did so to the point where it felt like redneck nation: national pride so high that we forgot that we were members of the world, not its masters.
So, I am relieved for his family that the long struggle is over and they can now find some peace and I am moved the way anyone would be at a demarcation point in our Nation’s history such as this (I didn’t like NIxon and I was moved at his death as well). At the same time, I’m not looking forward to the coming rhetoric. The Republicans are going to go on and on about how he was one of the greatest Presidents and they will never look at the stark contradiction the current President is to what they consider great. The Democrats will give hollow sounding platitudes as they try to carefully make their points while not offending anyone. So, it’s going to be a long week.